2026-09-28 Home and Away victories in Division 1

The League season got underway with the B Team hosting Grangemouth.

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling B             3-2  Grangemouth 

1. Brad Duthie      1562  0-1  Alan Bell        1939
2. Bill Cook        1552  ½-½  Dougie Will      1859
3. Kenny MacPherson 1525  1-0  Duncan Glassey   1676
4. Nathanael Loch   1525  ½-½  Pranav Hariharan 1712 
5. Toby Geyer       1491  1-0  Mark Monaghan    1706 

B team Captain Bill reports:

Despite being outgraded by a combined total of over 1000 points, Stirling managed to win an exciting and close match played in a good spirit.

My game was the first to finish - Dougie built up a attack which I fended off until we were left with a blocked position. Alan won two pieces for a rook with a nice tactic and although Brad resisted for a long time he had to resign - this was the second game to finish. Meanwhile Kenny had been building up pressure against Duncan, winning a couple of pawns and eventually delivering mate.

Nathanael appeared to be winning, a piece up with a strong attack on Pranav's exposed king, but he allowed his rook to be taken, and for a while was losing, but Pranav's king was still vulnerable and he was forced to repeat moves with perpetual check.

The last game to finish was Toby v Mark. Toby was two pawns up at one stage but allowed Mark back into the game before finally queening a pawn at which point Mark resigned.

Meanwhile, the A Team were in Broxburn and also took overall victory by the minimum margin.

   Central League Division 1
   Badgers Brook         2-3  Stirling A

1. Kenny McGeoch   2041  0-1  Isaac Browning 2053
2. Ian McLean      1883  1-0  Leo Gardner    1889
3. Stuart Ward     1866  0-1  William Spiers 1766
4. Graham Kerr     1599  1-0  Richard Warcup 1630
5. Jonathan Rowney 1512  0-1  Harry Feather  1471

2025-2026 Season Review

Our 2025-2026 season ended with a meeting at the Cowane Centre on Monday 1st June, which included the final of the Lindsay Cup.

The Club had been in a state of shock last November following the sudden death of Dave Hewitt who had done so much for the Club. Such was Dave's contribution that this required considerable reorganisation. Thanks to all members who rallied round to help - in particular Steve who took over as Competition Secretary and kept everything to schedule as well as continuing all his other work for the Club.

Despite everything, the season turned out to be one of the most successful in the Club's history.

Stirling won the quadruple of Divisions 1 and 2 of the Central League, the Neil Giffen Cup and the Allegro League; the A, Cup and Allegro teams captained by Isaac and the C team by Nathanael.

At the recent Central League AGM, Ian Robertson presented two of the trophies to Bill (Neil Giffen Cup) and Steve (Division 1 Trophy).

Unusually, for the first time for many years, the Under 1500 Cup was not won by Stirling, the honours going to Grangemouth who beat Dunfermline in the final.

Individual competitions

The final standings in the Richardson Cup (the Club Championship) were John 5.0; Isaac and Sean 4.0; Bill and William 2.5; Brad and Richard 1.5

Toby won the Thornton Cup by beating Gordon in the Final. Richard presented the trophy to Toby and took this photograph of him with it.

Ross won against Nathanael in the final of the Lindsay Cup. After a fluctuating encounter, though with no strong winning chances either way, Nathanael was pressing in a major-piece endgame, but missed a trap which would have resulted in at least losing Queen for Rook, so he resigned.

[Event "Lindsay Cup Final"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.06.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Warcup, Ross"] [Black "Loch, Nathanael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2318716860829728"] [EventDate "2025.11.28"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Bd3 Nge7 8. b4 Bb6 9. b5 Nb8 10. O-O a6 11. Na3 Qc7 12. Bd2 Ng6 13. Qe2 Bc5 14. Nc2 axb5 15. Ncd4 b4 16. Nb5 Bxb5 17. Bxb5+ Nc6 18. cxb4 Be7 19. a3 O-O 20. Rfe1 Rfc8 21. Bd3 Ra7 22. Bxg6 hxg6 23. Qd3 Rca8 24. Qb3 Ra4 25. Bc3 Qb6 26. Bb2 Bc5 27. Rf1 Nd4 28. Nxd4 Bxd4 29. Bxd4 Qxd4 30. Rfe1 b5 31. g3 Rc8 32. Qe3 Qc3 33. Rec1 1-0

2026-04-20 Three Home Matches

Stirling Chess Club has won both Divisions of the Central League, but there remain a few matches left to play before the League season is wrapped up.

We start with two matches from the second tier.

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling E          2-3  Clackmannanshire

1. Rudra Pardhi  930   1-0  Glen Wilson       1047
2. Josh Heesom   u/g   1-0  Joseph Lambert    u/g
3. Samay Banakar u/g   0-1  Aiden Cameron     u/g
4. Jamie Scanlon u/g   0-1  Roman Quinn       u/g
5. Aarika Pawar  u/g   0-1  Catherine Lambert u/g

Stirling had White on boards 3 and 4

Graham reports:

A first win of the season for Clackmannanshire - congratulations to them! It was great to see so many juniors - 8 - involved in this match.

Samay resigned early on, then Josh set a mating trap, with the lure of a Queen, for Joseph which he fell into.

Jamie missed a mate in two combination for five moves in a row before Roman swapped Queens, and the extra pawns made the difference.

Aarika got slowly strangled by Catherine before a back rank mate. Rudra - Glen will hopefully be on the club website soon.

[Event "Stirling E v Clackmannanshire"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Wilson, G."] [Black "Pardhi, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B70"] [WhiteElo "1047"] [BlackElo "930"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2302004149751925"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 e5 9. Nde2 Nc6 10. f4 Ng4 11. Bf2 exf4 12. Nxf4 Be5 (12... Nxf2 13. Rxf2 Bd4) 13. Bg3 Ne3 14. Qf3 Nxc4 15. Rad1 Nxb2 16. Rd2 Nc4 17. Rdd1 Nd4 18. Qd3 Nb2 19. Qd2 Nxd1 20. Nxd1 Qg5 21. Nb2 Ne6 22. Nbd3 b6 23. Qb4 Ba6 24. c4 Rac8 25. Nxe5 dxe5 26. Nd5 Bxc4 27. Ne7+ Kh8 28. Nxc8 Rxc8 29. Rxf7 Qd8 30. Bxe5+ Kg8 31. Rxa7 Qd3 (31... Qd1+ 32. Kf2 Qe2+ 33. Kg3 Qe3+ 34. Kh4 Qg5+ 35. Kh3 Nf4+ 36. Bxf4 Be6+ 37. g4 Qxg4#) 32. h3 Qxe4 33. Bg3 Nd4 34. Qxb6 Bd5 35. Qb2 Ne2+ 36. Kf1 Rc1+ (36... Rf8+ 37. Rf7 Rxf7+ 38. Ke1 Nxg3+ 39. Kd2 Rf2+ 40. Kd1 Rxb2 41. a3 Qb1#) 37. Kf2 Qxg2+ 38. Ke3 Qxg3+ 39. Kd2 Qe1+ 40. Ke3 Rc3+ {White resigns.} 0-1

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling D        2½-2½ Badgers Brook B

1. Tom Wallace  1313  ½-½  Antonio La Gamma 1269
2. David Fowler 1300  ½-½  David Lawrence   1180
3. Mick Bloor   1084  0-1  Connor George    977
4. Victor Lui   928   ½-½  Douglas Scott    973
5. Elsa Lui     u/g   1-0  Peter Woollven   907
 
Stirling had White on boards 4 and 5

Tom reports:

Elsa secured an early point with a good win against Peter.

Mick blew a winning position and lost a rook and eventually the game.

Victor and Douglas drew a Knight and pawn ending.

I had managed to draw with Antonio in a Knight and Bishop ending with lots of blocking pawns to force the draw.

The last game was an agreed draw with Stirling's David’s clock dropping but Badgers David only had a knight left. David F should have claimed a draw with under 2 minutes left and Kenny pointed out the King and Knight could theoretically mated with David’s rook and pawn in the corner. The 2 David’s had agreed a draw so all square in the end.

In Division 1, Stirling B's last match of the season against Badgers Brook A resulted in a 3.5 -1.5 win for the visitors:

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling B            1½-3½ Badgers Brook A

1. Richard Warcup   1637  0-1  Kenny McGeoch   2014
2. Brad Duthie      1552  0-1  Suzy Cooke      1902
3. Bill Cook        1544  ½-½  Jonathan Rowney 1543
4. Steve Smith      1549  0-1  Graham Kerr     1482
5. Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Colin Matthews  1394

Stirling had White on Boards 2 and 4

Bill reports:

Kenny MacP was a piece up fairly early on and converted to bring the first point. Suzy also won a piece and was the second game to finish.

I didn't see the end of the Board one game but apparently Richard had four pawns for two pieces but with only a couple of minutes left Kenny McG still managed to win.

I won a pawn and had possibly a winning advantage but spent some time trying a failing to see a way through and with both of us having about one minute left we agreed a draw.

In the last game to finish Steve won a pawn but Graham conjured up a mating attack.

Thanks to Badgers for a good match - slightly closer than the final score indicated.

To illustrate Bill's final point, here is the Board one game - a complicated and fluctuating encounter, which eventually ended up in the notorious KBN -v- K endgame. At this point, Kenny McG's endgame technique was up to a challenge which has proved too much for many club players and even much stronger ones.

[Event "Central League Division 1"] [Site "Stirling"] [Date "2026.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "McGeoch, Kenny"] [Black "Warcup, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A39"] [WhiteElo "2014"] [BlackElo "1637"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "189"] [GameId "2302003417079875"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 a6 9. Bg5 Qa5 10. Nxc6 dxc6 11. Qc1 Be6 12. b3 Rfe8 13. Bd2 Qh5 14. e4 Ng4 15. h3 Nf6 16. g4 Bxg4 17. hxg4 Nxg4 18. Bf4 Bd4 19. Ne2 Bxa1 20. Qxa1 e5 21. Bg3 Rad8 22. Qc3 f6 23. f3 Nh6 24. Kf2 g5 25. Rh1 Qg6 26. Qe3 Rd6 27. c5 Rdd8 28. b4 Kg7 29. Bh2 Qf7 30. Bh3 Qxa2 31. Rg1 Nf7 32. Bf5 h6 33. f4 Rd2 34. fxe5 Red8 35. exf6+ Kxf6 36. Qc3+ Ke7 37. Re1 R8d3 38. Bd6+ Ke8 39. Qg7 Rxd6 40. cxd6 Rxd6 41. e5 Rd5 42. Be6 Nxe5 43. Qxe5 Rxe5 44. Bxa2 Kd7 45. Nc3 Rxe1 46. Kxe1 Kc7 47. Na4 b6 48. Kf2 a5 49. bxa5 bxa5 50. Kf3 Kd6 51. Kg4 Ke5 52. Bf7 Kd4 53. Kh5 Ke5 54. Be8 Kf4 55. Bd7 Ke4 56. Bxc6+ Kd4 57. Kxh6 g4 58. Kh5 g3 59. Kh4 g2 60. Bxg2 Kc4 61. Bc6 Kd4 62. Kg4 Kc4 63. Kf4 Kd4 64. Bd7 Kc4 65. Ke4 Kb4 66. Kd4 Ka3 67. Kc3 Ka2 68. Kc4 Ka1 69. Kb5 Ka2 70. Kxa5 Ka1 71. Kb4 Ka2 72. Kc3 Ka1 73. Nc5 Ka2 74. Bf5 Ka1 75. Nb3+ Ka2 76. Be4 Ka3 77. Bb1 Ka4 78. Nd4 Ka5 79. Kc4 Kb6 80. Nb5 Kc6 81. Bf5 Kb6 82. Bd7 Ka5 83. Kc5 Ka4 84. Be6 Ka5 85. Bb3 Ka6 86. Nd6 Ka7 87. Kc6 Ka6 88. Nb7 Ka7 89. Bc4 Kb8 90. Kb6 Kc8 91. Be6+ Kb8 92. Nc5 Ka8 93. Bf5 Kb8 94. Na6+ Ka8 95. Be4# 1-0

2026-03-31 The A Team wins away at Dunfermline

   Central League Division 1 
   Dunfermline A              1-4  Stirling A

1. Volodymyr Tushynskyi 2176  0-1  Isaac Browning 2054
2. Ian Robertson        2059  0-1  John Iwuozor   2020
3. Gordon Greig         1560  0-1  William Spiers 1758
4. Gonzalo Forero       1556  1-0  Jim Shemilt    1707
5. Conall McGregor      u/g   0-1  Richard Warcup 1637	

Stirling had white on boards 1,2 and 5

Subject to confirmation, this victory for Stirling A has secured the Central League Division 1 title for the 2025-2026 season.

2026-03-25 Double-header at Grangemouth

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling C             3-2  Grangemouth C

1. Douglas Heatlie  1563  1-0  Jim Stallard   1330
2. Nathanael Loch   1515  1-0  Crawford Welsh 1243
3. Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Joe Johnstone  u/g  
4. Toby Geyer       1302  0-1  William Walker u/g
5. Kai Austin       946   0-1  Harry Leishman 847

Stirling had white on boards 2 and 5
Live rating: Joe Johnstone 1334

Stirling C, despite being the home team, travelled to Grangemouth on Wednesday to assist with scheduling the internal club tournaments.

Nathanael, the C Team captain had released Douglas to Stirling B who were playing that same night, but when one of the other C's players couldn't make it, he asked for Douglas back.

It was a close match and it was Douglas who decided it at the end.

Giving back Douglas left the B Team with only four players, but despite this, the outcome was a remarkable victory against the Grangemouth A Team.

   Central League Division 1
   Grangemouth A         2-3  Stirling B

1. Alan Bell       1948  0-1  Brad Duthie    1552
2. Graham Hamilton 1905  1/2  Richard Warcup 1637
3. Alan Petrie     1722  0-1  Bill Cook      1544
4. Bill Gray       1496  1/2  Steve Smith    1549
5. Sean Gray             1-0  Default 

Stirling had white on boards 3 and 4

All our players made an important contribution, but Brad's turnaround win on Board 1 was pivotal in securing at least a drawn match, and then Richard played accurately with little time left for an endgame draw in the final game to finish for the team victory.

Here is Brad's game. Alan was better for most of the game. Brad was left with a difficult endgame, but decided to muddy the waters with his 39.g5 and then Alan's 44...Kh4 was the fateful mistake.

[Event "Grangemouth A v Stirling B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.03.25"] [Round "?"] [White "Duthie, Brad"] [Black "Bell, Alan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "1552"] [BlackElo "1948"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2292626377019418"] [EventDate "2025.11.28"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Nbxd2 d6 7. e3 O-O 8. Bd3 e5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Qc2 Re8 11. Ne4 Nbd7 12. O-O h6 13. b4 a5 14. Qc3 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Nf6 16. Nd2 Rd8 17. f3 Qd6 18. Nb3 Nxe4 19. fxe4 a4 20. Nc1 Bg4 21. c5 Qd2 22. Qxd2 Rxd2 23. Ra2 Rad8 24. Rxd2 Rxd2 25. h3 Bh5 26. Kh2 Bg6 27. Kg3 Bxe4 28. Rf2 Rxf2 29. Kxf2 Kf8 30. Ne2 Ke8 31. Nc3 Bc2 32. g4 Kd7 33. e4 c6 34. Ke2 g6 35. Kd2 Bb3 36. h4 f6 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. Kf3 Bc2 39. g5 hxg5 40. hxg5 f5 41. Ke3 fxe4 42. Nxe4 Kf5 43. Nd6+ Kxg5 44. Nxb7 Kh4 45. Nd8 g5 46. Nxc6 g4 47. Nxe5 g3 48. Ke2 Be4 49. Kf1 Kg5 50. c6 Kf5 51. c7 Bb7 52. Nc4 Kg4 53. Nb6 Kh3 54. Kg1 1-0

2026-03-16 Stirling A secure important victory

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling A           4-1  Grangemouth A 

1. Isaac Browning 2054  ½-½  Alan Bell        1948
2. John Iwuozor   2020  1-0  Graham Hamilton  1905
3. Leo Gardner    1889  1-0  Pranav Hariharan 1747
4. William Spiers 1758  ½-½  Duncan Glassey   1722
5. Sean Flanagan  1698  1-0  Alan Petrie      1683

Stirling had white on boards 3 and 5

Alan and Isaac just about to start play on board 1 

Comments from Stirling A captain Isaac:

In a key match at the top of the table, Stirling A ultimately walked away with a convincing win. However, at least four of the five games were in the balance for long periods.

Sean's game was perhaps the clearest, after he played the strong move Nd1 and caught Alan P in multiple pins.

Alan B and I played out a sharp middlegame where I tried to sacrifice a pawn to make his pieces awkward but missed it was possible to give it back favourably straight away, resulting in a position where neither side felt they could make progress and a threefold repetition ensued.

John had arrived a few minutes late but in typical fashion swiftly turned this time disadvantage around against Graham, eventually managing to win an exchange which proved decisive.

Duncan was up a pawn against William but his bishop was badly restricted by his own pawns, which made further progress improbable and a draw was agreed.

Leo and Pranav were both low on the clock when Pranav made an illegal move in an otherwise roughly balanced endgame. The resulting two minute deficit was too difficult to overcome.

2026-02-16&18 Two Further Away Matches

We have already reported on the Stirling E Team's match at Dunfermline on Tuesday. One day earlier, the C team had travelled to Broxburn to play Badgers Brook B and lost 3-2 with two players missing.

   Central League Division 2
   Badgers Brook B        3-2  Stirling C
   
1. Colin Matthews   1394  1-0  Nathanael Loch   1515
2. Antonio La Gamma 1269  0-1  Kenny MacPherson 1506
3. David Lawrence   1180  1-0  default
4. Peter Woolven    907   0-1  Toby Geyer       1302
5. Matthew McEwan   u/g   1-0  default

Badgers Brook had White on boards 1 and 2

On Wednesday the B team lost at Grangemouth, but the match was a lot closer than the final score suggests.

   Central League Division 1
   Grangemouth B        4½-½  Stirling B

1. Alan Bell       1948  1-0  Brad Duthie     1552
2. Daniel Kitaev   1927  1-0  Richard Warcup  1637
3. Dougie Will     1839  ½-½  Bill Cook       1544
4. Nicholas Kitaev 1121  1-0  Steve Smith     1549
5. Harry Leishman  847   1-0  Douglas Heatlie 1563

Grangemouth had White on boards 1 and 2

2026-02-09 A double-header against Dunfermline

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling B           3-2  Dunfermline A 

1. Richard Warcup 1637  0-1  Ian Robertson    2059 
2. Brad Duthie    1552  1-0  Gregor McCluskey 1571
3. Ross Warcup    1494  1-0  Calum Smith      1599
4. Bill Cook      1544  0-1  Euan Bell        1429
5. Steve Smith    1549  1-0  Gonzalo Ferero   1556

Stirling were white on Boards 2 and 5

Bill provided these comments on the match.

Dunfermline were missing their strongest player, Volodymyr. Dunfermline had two promising young players and Stirling a fast improving one.

Ross won quickly in only about 20 moves. I didn't see much of the top board and that finished fairly quickly to make it 1-1.

Brad established a pawn wedge and eventually won Gregor's queen and his pawn was going to promote when Black resigned.

Steve and Gonzalo had what looked like a fairly level game but after Steve won a pawn he went on to win.

Euan sacrificed a piece against me and I had to give it back to prevent mate, but still two pawns down. I did get back to equality but started to get short of time and Euan took advantage well.

A closely fought match played in a good spirit.

   Central League Division 2
   Stirling C             4-1  Dunfermline B 

1. Douglas Heatlie  1563  0-1  Calum Newton            1508
2. Nathanael Loch   1515  1-0  Dimitris Giannakopoulos 1400
3. Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Daniel Lynch (default)  1239
4. Toby Geyer       1302  1-0  Glynis Grant            1180
5. Kelechi Nwosu    u/g   1-0  Brian Easton            999

Stirling were white on Boards 1 and 3

Nathanael provided these comments on the match.

Dunfermline B had some player troubles as their A-team needed some B-team players to play that same evening. Daniel Lynch sadly couldn't make it, hence Kenny -v- Daniel was a defaulted result.

I was quite engrossed in my game until the end, so I missed other people's matches in full. On board 1, I believe Calum won with a cheeky knight fork picking up a full queen.

On board 2, I thought I was doing quite well the whole game, but the engine showed that I won by the only winning line for me, all others completely losing! But a difficult positional game for both sides, so details are expected to be missed.

On board 4, it looked like an equal endgame to me, two bishops and a queen, equal pawns on both sides. Unfortunately I didn't see how this ended.

On board 5, Kelechi did well out the opening having a full rook by the time I was observing. But Brian did well to actually win material back with some knight tricks. Sadly Kelechi had about 4 pawns extra on top of the piece advantage. But a good try from Brian; without the pawns, it certainly would have been a clutch!

2026-02-02 A busy Monday night, home and away

At the first club meeting of the month, our A team were in action against the Grangemouth B team.

Here are Isaacs's comments on the match:

A well-fought match ultimately went the way of the visitors despite Stirling being able to put out our strongest team so far this season.

Boards 3,4, and 5 all came to a conclusion in quick succession. Dougie broke through with a queenside attack against Leo, William steered things and wore down Nicolas. The battle of the two Seans saw an interesting piece sacrifice that didn't immediately break through but the resulting pressure proved too much for Stirling's Sean.

John and Daniel also played out a very interesting game with significant complications. Eventually Daniel's passed d-pawn and kingside initiative outshone John's two queenside passers.

This result clinched the match and, despite my best efforts I was unable to overcome Alan's resistance and had to settle for a draw.

Congratulations to Grangemouth B, a fine win against the grading deficit!

   Central League Division 1
   Stirling A          1½-3½ Grangemouth B

1. Isaac Browning 2054  ½-½  Alan Bell      1948
2. John Iwuozor   2020  0-1  Daniel Kitaev  1927
3. Leo Gardner    1889  0-1  Dougie Will    1839
4. William Spiers 1758  1-0  Nicolas Kitaev 1121
5. Sean Flanagan  1698  0-1  Sean Gray      u/g

Stirling A had white on boards 1 and 4.

There were also games in the internal Lindsay Club. Graham sent in the moves from two games, both wins by our ever-improving juniors.

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.02.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Woodhouse, Chris"] [Black "Pardhi, Rudra"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B23"] [BlackElo "930"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "30"] [GameId "2273968022925344"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. O-O Nf6 6. h3 Bh5 7. d3 a6 8. Nd5 Nd4 9. c3 Nxf3+ 10. gxf3 Qc8 11. Nb6 Qxh3 12. Qa4+ Kd8 13. Re1 Bxf3 14. Qd7+ Nxd7 15. Nxa8 Qg2# 0-1

[Event "Lindsay Cup"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2026.02.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Liu, Elsa"] [Black "MacPherson, Kenny"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [BlackElo "1506"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "33"] [GameId "2273968221392932"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. O-O e6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nb5 e5 8. Ng5 Nh6 9. Nd6+ Ke7 10. Ngxf7 Qg8 11. Nxh8 Qf8 12. Nhf7 Nxf7 13. Nxf7 h6 14. c3 d6 15. b3 Be6 16. Nxd6 Kxd6 17. Ba3+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

Meanwhile, in Broxburn, two Stirling teams had travelled there to face two from the Badgers Brook club. The out-graded Stirling B team came through some late drama to clinch a win in their match so that the night ended with a match honours even between the clubs.

   Central League Division 1
   Badgers Brook A     2-3  Stirling B

1. Kenny McGeoch 2014  1-0  Brad Duthie	   1552	
2. Stuart Ward   1868  ½-½  Richard Warcup 1637		
3. David James   1517  ½-½  Ross Warcup	   1494	
4. Mark	Brown    1456  0-1  Bill Cook      1544
5. Corey Dolan	 1198* 0-1  Steve Smith	   1549	

* Live Rating		 
Badgers Brook A had white on boards 1 and 4

   Central League Division 2
   Badgers Brook B       4-1  Stirling D 

1. Graham Kerr     1482  1-0  Harry Feather   1461
2. Collin Matthews 1394  ½-½  Tom Wallace     1313
3. Kevin Brown     1318  ½-½  Kai Austin      978
4. David Lawrence  1180  1-0  Victor Liu      951
5. Peter Woollven  907   1-0  William Feather 905

2025-12-01 Match between the Stirling A and B Teams

Central League Division 1

Stirling A             5-0  Stirling B

Isaac Browning   2054  1-0  Richard Warcup 1637
William Spiers   1758  1-0  Brad Duthie    1552
Sean Flanagan    1698  1-0  Ross Warcup    1494
Nathanael Loch   1515  1-0  Steve Smith    1549
Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Bill Cook      1544

Stirling A had white on boards 3 and 4

Stirling A team captain, Isaac reports:

Stirling A had to rely on two members of the C team due to shortages, but neither Kenny nor Nathanael looked out of place. Kenny won in a bishop endgame after the game simplified fairly quickly. Nathanael attacked his way to a position with a queen and extra pawn vs two rooks, the exposed black king tipping the balance in his favour.

I managed to beat Richard after breaking out of a cramped position with an extra pawn. William, playing his fifth black from five games, managed to build up a space advantage in the centre and eventually triumph.

Sean and Ross' game went right down to the wire. Sean had an extra pawn, but Ross' passer on c2 had the white rook locked down. Therefore, it seemed for a while as though white wouldn't be able to escape, but Sean managed to open the h-file and bring his rook across to threaten mate, the possible pawn promotion an irrelevance. Ross, down to his last few seconds, was unable to find the saving tactic in time.

A hard-fought match, again not fully captured by the scoreline, under difficult circumstances for all.

2025-11-17 Two League Matches at Home

Central League Division 1

Stirling B           2-3  Grangemouth A 

Leo Gardner    1896  ½-½  John McLay       2016 
Richard Warcup 1636  0-1  Graham Hamilton  1905
Brad Duthie    1552  1-0  Pranav Hariharan 1747
Bill Cook      1544  0-1  Duncan Glassey   1722 
Steve Smith    1530  ½-½  Alan Petrie      1685 

Central League Division 2

Stirling E            ½-4½ Stirling C 

Mick Murphy     1087  0-1  Kenny MacPherson  1506
Mick Bloor      1084  0-1  Harry Feather     1461
Stewart Cairns  719   0-1  Toby Geyer        1302
Rudra Pardhi    930   0-1  Kelechi Nwosu     u/g
William Feather 875   ½-½  Tom Wallace       1313

2025-10-10 Two Matches against Dunfermline

Stirling hosted a double-header against Dunfermline, and both home teams ended the evening victorious.

Central League Division 1 Match

Stirling A           4-1  Dunfermline A

Isaac Browning 2054  1-0  Volodymyr Tushynsky 2176
John Iwuozor   2020  ½-½  Ian Robertson       2059
Leo Gardner    1889  1-0  John McBride        1715
William Spiers 1758  1-0  Calum Smith         1599
Sean Flanagan  1698  ½-½  Gregor McCloskey    1571

Stirling had white on boards 3 and 5

The Stirling A team had a strengthened line-up with Leo Gardner winning on his first appearance for the club. Isaac Browning, the Stirling A captain, reports:

A tighter match than the score line would perhaps suggest.

Ian and John Iwuozor (who had arrived ten minutes late) drew what seemed to be a fairly peaceful game; Sean and Gregor likewise.

Leo, Stirling's newest recruit, managed to get the better of John McBride from a position with queens and two minor pieces each.

I beat Volodymyr after emerging from a very complicated opening with an extra pawn, which eventually became two due to white's problematic structure.

William was down a pawn at one point but managed to regain it and ultimately caught Calum's king in a mating trap to round off the match.

Central League Division 2 Match

Stirling D             3-2  Dunfermline B

1. Harry Feather 1461  0-1  Euan Bell        1429
2. David Fowler  1300  ½-½  Douglas Rew      1369
3. Tom Wallace   1313  1-0  Daniel Lynch     1239
4. Kai Austin    946   ½-½  Ali Shuttleworth 1207
5. Victor Liu    928   1-0  Barrie Dempster  896

Dunfermline had white on boards 3,4 and 5

The Junior players for both sides put in strong performance. Tom Wallace reports:

A very close game tonight between Stirling D and Dunfermline B.

Stirling Junior Kai Austin drew with Ali Shuttleworth with a perpetual quite quickly on board 4. David Fowler and Douglas Rew on board 2 swapped off pieces to leave a rook and 5 pawn draw. Another Stirling Junior Victor Liu won on board 5 against Barrie Dempster.

On board 1 Dunfermline Junior Euan Bell beat Harry Feather which left the score 2-2 with my game on board 3 against Daniel Lynch deciding the overall result.

I had black and put a lot of pressure on white until a miscalculation with not a lot of time left on both sides where Daniel had a dangerous passed d-pawn with only the queens and 4 pawns each. I sacrificed a b-pawn and Daniel quickly moved his queen up the queenside to capture more pawns and leaving his King to a back row mate which I gladly grabbed.

2025-10-23 League Results Round-up

I had got behind with reporting the results of the Central League matches, but below you will find a major update starting with this week's results and going in reverse chronological order back to late September. The results start off with what I think was our first visit to the new Clackmannanshire club in Alloa for a competitive match.

   2025-10-22 Division 2 Match

   Clackmannanshire     0-5  Stirling C

1. Glen Wilson    1082  0-1  Nathanael Loch   1488
2. Luke Evans     u/g   0-1  Kenny MacPherson 1504
3. Dale Carberry  u/g   0-1  Kelechi Nwosu    u/g
4. Joseph Lambert u/g   0-1  Toby Geyer       1332
5. Roman Quinn    u/g   0-1  Dave Hewitt      1500

Two days earlier the Stirling B team were at home to Grangemouth B in while the E team ventured to Broxburn to play Badgers Brook.

   2025-10-20 Division 1 Match

   Stirling B           ½-4½ Grangemouth B

1. Brad Duthie    1552  0-1  Alan Bell      1948
2. Ross Warcup    1494  0-1  Daniel Kitaev  1928
3. Richard Warcup 1637  ½-½  Dougie Will    1839
4. Bill Cook      1544  0-1  Crawford Welsh 1243
5. Steve Smith    1549  0-1  Joe Johnson    u/g
   
   2025-10-20 Division 2 Match

   Badgers Brook          3-2  Stirling E

1. Kevin Brown      1318  0-1  Sandy Carmichael 1357
2. Antonio La Gamma 1269  1-0  Mick Murphy      1087
3. David Lawrence   1180  0-1  Stewart Cairns   719
4. Corey Dolan      u/g   1-0  Chris Woodhouse  u/g
5. Matthew McEwan   u/g   1-0  Elsa Liu         u/g

The previous Monday there was a double-header at home against Badgers Brook and Clackmannanshire.

   2025-10-13 Division 1 Match

   Stirling A          3½-1½ Badgers Brook

1. Isaac Browning 2054  1-0  Kenny McGeoch   2014
2. John Iwuozor   2020  1-0  Stuart Ward     1868
3. William Spiers 1758  0-1  Jonathan Rowney 1543
4. Sean Flanagan  1698  ½-½  Colin Matthews  1394
5. Stephen Smith  1549  1-0  Corey Dolan     u/g
  
   2025-10-13 Division 2 Match

   Stirling D         4½-½  Clackmannanshire

1. Harry Feather 1461  1-0  John Blake       1546
2. David Fowler  1300  1-0  Glen Wilson      1047 
3. Tom Wallace   1313  1-0  Luke Evans       u/g
4. Kai Austin    946   ½-½  Vytautas Jakstys u/g
5. Victor Liu    u/g   1-0  Joseph Lambert   u/g

There was only one League match played in the week commencing Monday 6 October.

   2025-10-06 Division 2 Match

   Stirling C            3½-1½ Badgers Brook B
                        
1. Nathanael Loch   1515  1-0  Graham Kerr    1482
2. Kenny MacPherson 1506  1-0  Colin Matthews 1394
3. Kelechi Nwosu    u/g   0-1  Gordon Walker  1237
4. Toby Geyer       1302  ½-½  David Lawrence 1170
5. Dave Hewitt      1493  1-0  Peter Woollven 907

Going back to the last Tuesday in September, Stirling had two teams in action away to Dunfermline.

   30-09-2025 Division 1 Match

   Dunfermline A                4½-½  Stirling B
 
1. Volodymyr Tushynskyi    2176  1-0  Jim Shemilt     1707
2. Ian Robertson           2059  1-0  Richard Warcup  1637
3. Calum Smith             1599  ½-½  Brad Duthie     1552
4. Gordon Greig            1560  1-0  Douglas Heatlie 1563
5. Dimitris Giannakopoulos 1400  1-0  Steve Smith     1549
   
   30-09-2025 Division 2 Match

   Dunfermline B         2½-2½ Stirling C
                           
1. Gregor McCloskey 1630  1-0  Nathanael Loch   1515
2. Euan Bell        1427  1-0  Kenny MacPherson 1506
3. Douglas Rew      1369  ½-½  Harry Feather    1461
4. George Webb      1316  0-1  Toby Geyer       1302
5. Barrie Dempster  896   0-1  Dave Hewitt      1493

The last match in our round-up to link up with the two earlier results of the 2025-6 season, already posted, is an away match at Grangemouth

   24-09-2025 Division 1 Match

   Grangemouth B      2½-2½ Stirling A    
                       
1. Alan Bell     1948  ½-½  Isaac Browning 2054
2. Daniel Kitaev 1928  0-1  John Iwuozor   2020
3. Dougie Will   1839  1-0  William Spiers 1758
4. John Smith    1653  1-0  James Shemilt  1707
5. Bill Gray     1486  0-1  Ross Warcup    1494

27-01-25 Stirling A v Stirling B

Stirling A		v		Stirling B
Isaac Browning William Spiers Oliver Twentyman Richard Warcup Steve Smith	2008 1807 1784 1555 1599	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 1 ½ - ½	1470 1545 1481 1513 1481	Bill Cook Brad Duthie Douglas Heatlie Nathanael Loch Kenny MacPherson
		1½ - 3½

Thanks to the various players for the games below.

[Event "Stirling A v Stirling B"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2025.01.27"] [White "Browning, I"] [Black "Cook, B"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1470"] [ECO "B90"] [Opening "Sicilian"] [Variation "Najdorf, 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7 9.Qd2"] [WhiteElo "2008"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Nbd7 9. Qd2 Rc8 10. O-O-O Be7 11. g4 Nb6 12. Qf2 Nfd7 13. h4 Qc7 14. Kb1 Bc4 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Nd5 Qc6 17. Bg5 f6 18. Be3 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Bd8 20. Qd2 O-O 21. Nb4 Qb5 22. Qxd6 Nb6 23. Nd5 Rc6 24. Ne7+ Bxe7 25. Qxe7 Nc4 26. Rd7 {Black resigns.} 1-0

 

[Event "Stirling A v Stirling B"] [Site "Stirling CC"] [Date "2025.01.27"] [White "Loch, N"] [Black "Warcup, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1555"] [ECO "A00"] [Opening "Dunst (Sleipner-Heinrichsen-Van Geet) Opening"] [Variation "1...d5"] [WhiteElo "1513"] 1. Nc3 d5 2. f4 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bf5 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bg2 d4 7. e4 Bg4 8. Ne2 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 h5 10. Ng1 e5 11. Nh3 Qd7 12. Ng5 g6 13. Qe2 Bd6 14. Bg2 Nh7 15. f5 Be7 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. Bh3 Qd6 18. fxg6+ Kxg6 19. Bf5+ Kg7 20. Qxh5 Ng5 21. Qg4 Qf6 22. O-O Rh3 23. Bxg5 Rxg3+ 24. hxg3 Qxg5 25. Qxg5+ Bxg5 26. a3 Ne7 27. Kg2 Ng8 28. Rh1 Nh6 29. Rh5 Be3 30. Rf1 Re8 31. g4 Nf7 32. Rh7+ Kg8 33. Rxf7 Kxf7 34. Bd7+ Ke7 35. Bxe8 Kxe8 36. Kh3 Ke7 37. Kh4 Bf4 38. g5 b5 39. Kg4 Kf7 40. Rxf4+ exf4 41. Kxf4 c4 42. Kf5 a5 43. e5 c3 44. b3 {Black resigns.} 1-0

 

09-12-24 Stirling B v Stirling A

Stirling B		v		Stirling A
Nathanel Loch Kenny MacPherson Bill Cook Harry Feather Ross Warcup	1513 1481 1470 1464 742	0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1	2008 1807 1784 1555 1599	Isaac Browning William Spiers Oliver Twentyman Richard Warcup Steve Smith
		1 - 4

04-11-04 Stirling A v Grangemouth A

Stirling A		v		Grangemouth A
Isaac Browning William Spiers Oliver Twentyman Sean Flanagan Steve Smith	2008 1807 1784 1575 1599	1 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 1	2011 1962 1801 1675 1628	John McLay Daniel Kitaev Pranav Ram Hariharan Alan Petrie Martin Moyo
		2 - 3

23-10-24 Grangemouth B v Stirling A

Grangemouth B		v		Stirling A
Alan Bell Dougie Will Duncan Glassey Bill Gray Crawford Welsh	1873 1857 1675 1521 1232	½ - ½ 1 - 0 0 - 1 ½ - ½ 0 - 1	2008 1897 1807 1759 1599	Isaac Browning Sam Coates William Spiers Jim Shemilt Steve Smith
		2 - 3

14-10-24 Stirling B v Grangemouth B

Stirling B		v		Grangemouth B
Brad Duthie Nathanael Loch Richard Warcup Bill Cook Tom Wallace	1545 1513 1555 1470 1352	0 - 1 ½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0	1873 1857 1521 1232 1152	Alan Bell Dougie Will Bill Gray Crawford Welsh Roman Kuznetsov
		3½ - 1½

07-10-24 Badgers Brook A v Stirling A

Badgers Brook A		v		Stirling A
Kenny McGeoch Mark Cook Stuart Ward Mark Monaghan David James	2029 1908 1810 1798 1500	0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 0	2008 1784 1599 1575 1513	Isaac Browning Oliver Twentyman Steve Smith Sean Flanagan Nathanael Loch
		3 - 2

25-09-24 Grangemouth A v Stirling B

Grangemouth A		v		Stirling B
John McLay Daniel Kitaev Pranav Ram Hariharan Alan Petrie Mark Moyo	2011 1962 1801 1675	½ - ½ 1 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 1 ½ - ½	1759 1545 1513 1481 1470	Jim Shemilt Brad Duthie Nathanael Loch Kenny MacPherson Bill Cook
		3 - 2